The European Commission has carried out “anti-trust” inspections at factories of an unidentified chocolate company in two EU member states.
In a statement dated 13 April, the Commission said the visits to the “company active in the chocolate confectionery sector” were unannounced.
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“The Commission has concerns that the inspected company may have violated EU anti-trust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices, as well as abuses of a dominant market position,” the EU’s executive branch explained.
Article 101 and Article 102 of the ‘Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union’ were cited as the rules governing the potential infringements.
The Commission added it was “investigating possible market segmentation in the form of restrictions on the trade of goods between member states in the single market and obstacles to multi-country purchases”.
However, outlining the procedures for such investigations, the Commission emphasised there was no conclusion of guilt with respect to the unidentified company at this stage.
“Unannounced inspections are a preliminary investigatory step into suspected anti-competitive practices. The fact that the Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the company is guilty of anti-competitive behaviour, nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself,” the Comission said.
Just Food asked the Commission to confirm the identity of the company concerned and its country of origin, as well as the plants involved in the inspections and the timing. The request was declined.
According to the statement: “There is no legal deadline to complete inquiries into anti-competitive conduct. Their duration depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of each case, the extent to which the companies concerned cooperate with the Commission and the parties’ exercise of their rights of defence.”
It added that the body has a whistleblower mechanism to “make it easier for individuals or companies to alert it about anti-competitive behaviour while maintaining their anonymity”.
Reuters reported yesterday (14 April) that neither Nestlé nor Mondelez International were targeted by Commission inspectors in the anti-trust probe, according to separate statements from the food and confectionery giants.
Mondelez was fined by the Commission in 2024 for breaching EU regulations for “hindering cross-border trade” in an investigation dating back to 2021.
At the time, Mondelez acknowledged it had reached a “settlement” with the European authorities.
